Men’s lifestyle brand XYXX, in collaboration with content creator Vir Saini and PinkSauce Studios, has created a genius campaign with something as simple as a role reversal. The new advertisement holds up a humorous yet uncomfortable mirror to society.
XYXX’s latest campaign, “If Baniyans Were Bras,” uses humour and social observation to highlight everyday gendered double standards. By imagining a world where men are scrutinised for visible vest lines in the same way women are often judged for visible bra straps, the campaign turns a harsh social reality on its head.
While the film functions as a sharp social commentary, its primary objective is to build awareness for XYXX’s Invisible Vest, a seamless innerwear product.
Role reversal
Set in a parallel universe, the ad depicts men experiencing the kind of unsolicited attention and judgment women frequently encounter. A father scolds his son for hanging a vest out to dry because it is embarrassing, a commuter faces unwanted stares on a bus due to his visible baniyan, and a saleswoman casually suggests a better vest size to a male shopper.
The film culminates with the line, “My eyes are up here,” a callback to a phrase women often use to challenge objectification and redirect the male gaze.
What makes the campaign particularly effective is its strategic departure from category conventions.
Traditionally, the category has been dominated by themes of hyper-masculinity, with campaigns leaning heavily on physicality, toughness, and alpha male. Celebrity endorsements have also been a cornerstone of the segment, with major brands relying on star power to drive recall and visibility, such as Dixcy Scott’s association with Salman Khan or Lux Cozi with Sunny Deol and Varun Dhawan.
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Stepping away from mainstream
Then comes the messaging. Men’s innerwear brands have typically resorted to communication on functional benefits like comfort, fit, and performance. Campaigns often went for product-led communication, with taglines such as Lux Cozi’s “Yeh Aaram Ka Maamla Hai.”
However, XYXX steps away from these conventions. Instead of relying solely on celebrities or traditional masculine archetypes, the brand is embracing social observation, humour, and shareable digital content to create conversations that extend beyond the product itself.
Humour sits at the heart of the campaign’s creative strategy. Recognising that audiences come to social media for entertainment and connection rather than advertising, the brand used comedy as its most powerful vehicle for engagement and shareability.
For XYXX, shares are the true currency of modern marketing, and the campaign was designed to spark conversation. The approach appears to have paid off. Within a week of its release, “If Baniyans Were Bras” generated more than 7 million organic views and over 5,00,000 engagements.
Although the ad centres on male characters, its strongest resonance may be with women, who have for decades faced this problem and continue to do so. The brand, overall, has created a campaign that not only promotes a product but also invites audiences to reflect on the social norms that shape everyday experiences.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)